Lorenzo Romar: ‘Bottom line, Isaiah Thomas wants to play in the NBA’

Lorenzo Romar said he wasn’t surprised when Isaiah Thomas told him this week he had decided to declare for the NBA Draft.

The Washington Huskies coach didn’t try to talk him out of it, either. Maybe because he knew it wouldn’t have worked.

“I’ve just kind of learned, when guys have their mind made up, all I can do is be honest with them and tell them what’s out there, and then they make their decision,” Romar said on a teleconference from Houston, where he is attending the Final Four.

Romar also confirmed what Thomas told reporters earlier in the day — that entering the NBA Draft isn’t simply just a “testing the waters” move. Thomas said unequivocally on Thursday that his Huskies career is over, and Romar didn’t offer any evidence to the contrary.

Yes, Romar says, Thomas needs work on his jump shot. And his decision-making could use some work, too. But it came down to Thomas knowing how close he was to an NBA future, and simply wanting to capitalize on that opportunity as soon as possible.

“The bottom line, Isaiah Thomas wants to play in the NBA, like everybody does,” Romar said. “It has now become so close of a reality to him it’s just something he decided to do. In terms of being surprised or not, I’m not surprised he wanted to be there. He worked as hard, if not harder, than anyone on our team to get better. … He wanted to eventually get there. The fact that he knows there’s a chance and he’s leaving, that doesn’t surprise me.

“I talked to a number of people, and I think the NBA people, they’re very careful and they always speak with caution on guys coming back. Unless they’re a sure-fire lottery pick, a lot of times they encourage guys to stay in.

“There seemed to be a general consensus that he would be drafted.”

It sounds like Thomas’ desire to be an NBA player really was the motivating factor here. Romar said the prospect of Thomas playing off the ball more next season was something they’d discussed, but that it wasn’t a deal-breaker. Abdul Gaddy and Tony Wroten are expected to handle the point guard duties, leading some to believe that Thomas wouldn’t have the chance to continue showing his skills as a ball-handler.

“It’s something that as you weigh out all the pros and cons, there may be 50 of them and that was one of 50,” Romar said. “I don’t think that was a determining factor for him.”

Again, as of right now, the only conclusion that can be taken from today’s events is that Thomas has played his last game as a Husky. But Romar said if Thomas wants to come back for whatever reason — and we really should stress again how unlikely that is — that the team will welcome him with open arms.

“I’m excited for him,” Romar said. “If he goes down the road and has cold feet and has even more information, we’ll welcome him back.”

Thomas is the third player to declare early for the NBA Draft. Nate Robinson left after his sophomore year in 2005, and Spencer Hawes departed after his freshman year in 2007.

With Thomas out of the picture, the Huskies will have two available scholarships for next season. Romar said again that he’d like to sign a big man, and said there is now a greater likelihood that Andrew Andrews will enroll in the fall and be with the team next season.

Andrews, a point guard from Portland, Ore., signed with the Huskies in November but was planning to attend prep school before joining Washington for the 2012-13 season.

That could change now.

“With Isaiah leaving, there’s a higher potential of (Andrews) coming next year in the fall,” Romar said. “We’ve talked about it a little bit, but we have not confirmed anything with Andrew.”

Either way, Romar said he plans to fill both scholarships.

“I don’t know what the answer will be at this point, but (we have) a little more flexibility,” he said.